


Lanced Through the Heart

by imma_fanficing_leo



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff and Angst, I'm not even sure what's gonna happen after chapter 7, Implied Sexual Content, Keith discovers his sexuality, Lance is so oblivious that sometimes it makes me groan, Like a long slow burn, M/M, Other, Romelle and Hunk are the bestest friends ever, Slow Burn, Talks of self-hatred, klance, like things don't even get started until chapter 7, oblivious lance, possible smut (will warn!), possible trigger warning (will warn!), talks of depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-10-04 08:31:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17301302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imma_fanficing_leo/pseuds/imma_fanficing_leo
Summary: A year and half after the events that saved the universe, Lance finds himself hiding behind a facade. He wants to move on from Allura but he doesn't know how. With a little help from his friends Lance starts to realize that he may be able to move on from Allura after all. What he doesn't realize is that his friends are working behind the scenes to get him together with one of their very own (*cough* Keith *cough*).





	1. The Introduction to Lance's Struggles (and his friends plan to help him through it)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first fic on this site! I hope you join Lance on his journey of self discovery and love!   
> And I know a lot of people didn't like the ending of Voltron and I could go on a nice spiel about how I enjoyed it after I got over the shock but, I just wanna say that I think the ending has opened up a huge path for fanfics everywhere. To me the ending of the show beckoned all of us to continue the story in our own minds, and that is what I am here to do, enjoy!

Lance stood up brushing the dirt off of his knees. He looked around, taking in the calming view of the farm. To the north Juniberry flowers spread as far as the eye could see, painting the grass a bright magenta. To the south rows of sowed soil sat, vegetables sprouting in the summer heat. To the east a wooden fence enclosed cows, a few chickens strutting about. And to the west sat Lance’s house. He saw that the kitchen window was open, he glimpsed his mother and sisters moving about making dinner.

A small smile spread across his face as he began to make his way towards the porch. He took the rickety steps two at a time, pausing before he opened the door and sighed. Lance was happy, he was with his family and the universe was finally at peace. Even with all of that Lance felt like something was missing. Of course when he got into one of these moods they were usually at nighttime when he was by himself. He was able to let his emotions flow, but dinner was almost ready and he didn’t want his family to worry.

He pushed that feeling into the back of his head saving it for later tonight. He had learned quickly that keeping those feelings in only made them worse. They also didn’t do well for his health and he sometimes took his feelings out on his family, which was the final straw for him. He pushed open the door, kicking his boots off as he called a greeting to the kitchen.

“Lance you better go upstairs and clean up or you get to sleep outside tonight.” His mom’s voice echoed into the hallway.

“Yes ma’am,” Lance called with a smirk on his face. He loved his mom, and he loved getting on her nerves sometimes. She did not like to be called ma’am, but occasionally when she would tell Lance to do something he couldn’t resist calling her that. Before he could hear what she said back Lance was already running upstairs.

Once he reached his room he stripped off his sweaty clothes throwing them in the hamper next to his door. He grabbed his towel, throwing it over his shoulder as he went through the door that connected his room to the bathroom. Him and his sister Victoria shared a bathroom but she was at the Garrison right now so he didn’t have to worry about covering up.

As Lance took a shower, all the thoughts he had been trying to hold back began to overflow. If they couldn’t wait till later, Lance guessed now was the best time. Lance slowly sank to the bottom of the tub, his arms wrapped around his knees that were pressed against his chest. The hot water that ricocheted off of Lance’s skin sent him into a trance as he let all of his thoughts flood through him. 

If Lance was being truthful, he felt hopelessly lost without Allura. He didn’t know what to do with himself. He knew Allura would want him to move on, and it’s not like he tried. Lance wanted to be happy, he wanted to smile. Not the smiles you receive from retail workers who have mastered the art of appearing happy when all they really wanted to do was rip their hair out. No. Lance wanted a genuine smile, a smile that reflected just how happy he was. A smile that radiated from deep within him, and not just a reminiscence of how happy he used to be.

When Lance was homesick, Allura and the rest of team gave him those genuine smiles. They were his home away from home. Lance knew Allura was hurting because her home was destroyed 10,000 years ago, and yet she put effort into making Lance feel at home. Earth was still alive, granted it was almost destroyed, but Lance had gotten to see his family. Allura, only had a holographic depiction of her dad, a machine that stored his memories and almost caused the end of Voltron. Allura also had Coran and Coran had Allura.

The difference between the two was that Coran seemed able to adapt better than Allura. Allura couldn’t let go of the past as easily as Coran. Coran was ready to start a new life, he wasn’t going to take the second chance he had been given for granted. He was determined to make the best out of the situation, he wanted to make Allura happy. And Allura wanted to be happy, but there was always a part of her that couldn’t be happy. Lance sensed that, but he was stubborn. He was going to change that, but in the end he couldn’t. He wasn’t the person that could fill that void. What could fill the void were those that were trapped in Honerva’s mind, freed by the paladins of Voltron only to shortly be whisked away.

Though Allura was deeply pained to go, there was a spark in her. That little part of herself that had never been happy since she woke up from her 10,000 year slumber, was actually, happy. She felt like she belonged, with the paladins of old, with her dad. She also knew that she had to let Lance go. Lance would never be truly happy with her, she loved him too dearly to hurt him. On the other hand, if she didn’t do what she did Lance wouldn’t be hurting at all. All of the universes, all of the realities, everything would have been a vast expanse of nothing. Absolutely nothing.

And Lance felt that absolutely nothing would be better than muffling his sobs in the showers. He wanted to feel happy again, but he couldn’t-no. He didn’t know how to let Allura go, and it pained him. As his sobs quieted and Lance got control over his body again he quickly finished his shower. He went through his usual routine of drying his hair, applying body and face moisturizer, and making it look like he didn’t have his heart wrenched from his body.

Satisfied that he didn’t look like a mess, he slapped on his happy face and stomped down the stairs, making the house fully aware of his presence. He heard his mother call him to set the table with is siblings. He groaned, but internally he was glad to be spending time with his family. Even though he had seen his family almost every day for the past year and half he still felt like he needed to make up for lost time. Lance had brought so much worry onto his family, he had always been a carefree and rebellious soul, but flying away on a blue lion and saving the universe definitely wasn’t what his family had in mind.

————————————————————————————————————

(These are text messages)

Pidge: Do you have any plans for Lance’s birthday?

Hunk: I was gonna do the usual and bake him a cake and a whole bunch of cookies. Did you have something in mind?

Pidge: I’m just kind of worried about him. I kind of want to do something special?

Hunk: Hmmm now that you mention it he has been kicking my ass in Words against Friends. Cheating is not healthy, maybe he’s hanging out with the wrong crowd.

Pidge: Hunk…

Hunk: Sorry. Just thought I’d try and lighten the mood before this conversation starts. You know I get nervous about serious stuff. So what do you have in mind?

Pidge: I was thinking of holding him a surprise party?

Hunk: I am so down! I’m gonna prepare the best food! We’re gonna invite everyone! The paladins will finally be reunited other than once a year to have a somber celebration!

Hunk:…

Hunk: Wait… All the paladins in one place… PIDGE YOU ARE PLANNING SOMETHING! I CAN SMELL THE SCHEME FROM HERE AND I HAVE VASELINE UNDER MY NOSE.

Pidge: Why do you… never mind I don’t wanna know… but yes, I have something planned *scheming face*

Hunk: I am always wary of your scheming face… I’m getting Shiro involved!

Pidge: Good idea! Name the group chat ‘Lanced through the heart’

Hunk: You’re laughing right now aren’t you?

Pidge: Can’t help it I’m so funny!

Hunk: Can you hear that? That’s me groaning at your awful pun.

Pidge: Yeah yeah. I’ll talk to you later, gotta go to my stand up comedy gig

Hunk: In your dreams

Hunk: Bye!


	2. And so the Plan Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things begin to kick off for the plan that Hunk and Pidge have for Lance.
> 
> (brief mention of Lance abusing sleeping pills)

“Pidge! Hey Pidge, it’s me… Hunk!” Pidge turned around to see a tall built man running their way. They chuckled, no matter the mood of the room Hunk was always there to lift everyones spirits. Even though Pidge was already in a good mood seeing Hunk made their day ten times better. As Hunk got closer Pidge could see he had rosy cheeks from running. Hunk stopped in front of them, stretching their back with their hands on their hips.

“I’m sorry, but do I know you?” Pidge asked, feigning confusion. Hunk whipped his head to look at Pidge, his brows furrowed together in concern.

“Haha Pidge, funny.” A small smile spread across his face as he arched an eyebrow at Pidge.

“Who’s Pidge?” They were fighting so hard to keep their confused expression on their face.

“Well they’re my best friend. Have been for a long time, we’ve been through so much together,” Hunk fake sniffles while wiping away an imaginary tear. “I wanted to let them know how much I appreciate them so I got them this.” Hunk reaches into his backpack and pulls out a rectangular box. Pidge pushed their glasses up their nose as they examined what was in Hunk’s hand. A gasp immediately followed.

“Is that Killbot Phantasm 28: Armageddon Incarnate?” Pidge’s nose was nearly touching the case.

“Yeah, it is,” Hunk sighed, pulling the case away from Pidge. “It’s a shame though. I guess I’ll have to hold onto it until I find them.” Pidge couldn’t keep their act up anymore, they threw themselves at Hunk enveloping the taller man into a hug.

“Why are you hugging me random stranger?” even as Hunk asked this he wrapped his arms around the smaller frame.

“Shut up Hunk.” Pidge chuckled, releasing Hunk. They turned on their heels and headed towards the Garrison.

“So uh, why did you have vaseline under your nose?” Pidge looked back at Hunk who looked confused before remembering their text messages.

“Oh! Now that’s a funny story. I’ll tell you about it later, let’s talk about our surprise for Lance” Hunk let loose a boisterous laugh as they made their towards the Greeting Center of the Garrison.

————————————————————————————————————

(one week later)

Lance woke up to the sun snaking its way through the gap in his curtain. He moaned as threw the covers over his head. Lance didn’t know what time it was but he didn’t care, he was tired and wanted to go back to bed. Unfortunately, his mom had some sort of radar for when her kids woke up so Lance knew he wouldn’t be in bed for much longer. He pulled the covers tightly over him attempting to enjoy the warmth as long as he could.

Within 10 minutes (though Lance would claim it was mere seconds) his mother opened his door and made her way to the humanoid shaped comforter, she sat down on the end of the bed. Lance suspected she was waiting for him to make his way out of his cocoon, but he wasn’t going to give her that satisfaction. It was the weekend, he wanted to enjoy sleeping in. Instead of showing his face to his mom he promptly buried himself further in the comforter. He heard his mother sigh and felt her pat the comforter. 

“Mijo, if you’re not downstairs and presentable in the next 15 minutes I am going to give Marco and Luis complete reign over how they’ll get you downstairs.” Lance sat straight up flinging the covers off of him, luckily his mother had already stood up from the bed watching in amusement. Lance’s eyes were wide with fear, his hair sticking up everywhere.

“Mamá, that is totally not fair! Do you remember the last time that happened?” His mom chuckled in reply as she turned here back to him and made her to the door. She stopped at the archway and turned back towards Lance who was staring at her in disbelief. 

“Don’t worry, the dent in the hardwood floor is always a reminder to me. But we have a guest downstairs and I don’t need my son shirtless with bed head and blue slippers walking into my kitchen right now. So yes, I will definitely use Marco and Luis as ‘encouragement’ for you to get ready.” And with that she was gone, leaving Lance calling after her asking her who the guest was.

With no reply Lance grumbled as he made his way from his bed to his closet pulling out a pair of jeans and a 3/4 sleeve shirt with the words “Sharpshooter” written across it in loopy letter. He made walked to his dresser pulling out some socks and boxer briefs. He changed in the bathroom, brushed his teeth, tamed his hair, and put on his chipper facade.

He quickly made his way downstairs about to take a left into the kitchen when he heard some laughter. Lance knew that laugh, it was the laugh that could set an entire room at ease. The laugh that was confident but not arrogant. A laugh that immediately turned his facade into reality.

“Shiro!” Lance yelled turning the corner to see Shiro was sitting on a stool at the island, his back to him. Shiro turned around, a huge smile spreading across his face when he saw Lance. He stood up and made his way towards Lance. The two men threw their arms around each other. After a few moments Shiro squeezed Lance and gently pushed him away holding onto his shoulders.

“Lance! It’s good to see you, sorry I haven’t been around to visit more often.” Shiro said sheepishly, a small blush appeared on his cheeks as he dropped his arms to his sides. Lance waved his worries away.

“You’re busy, I don’t expect you to take time out of your schedule for me,” Lance threw his arm around Shiro’s shoulder leading him back towards the island. They both took a seat, his mom brought Lance his favorite morning drink, apple juice. Shiro raised his eyebrows as Lance quickly chugged the drink.

“Hey, can’t a man enjoy his apple juice?” Lance asked defensively when saw the look on Shiro’s face as he dramatically slammed the cup on the counter. 

“I’m not judging your apple juice, I’m judging the cup you’re drinking it from.” Lance looked down at the cup to see it was a picture of himself giving his signature smirk, a bunch of hearts and roses surrounded the picture of Lance.

“Oh, shortly after we saved the universe a group of girls came up to me and gave me a bunch of presents, I didn’t open them up until I moved back here. I tried to throw it away but my entire family was adamant that I keep it. Though I wonder why of all days I got this cup.” Lance shot a glare at his mom who was hiding her giggles behind her hand.

“So what brings you here?” Lance asked as Shiro continued to examine the cup.

“Can’t a man visit his friend?” Shiro looked up at Lance’s skeptical face.

“Of course, but they usually message beforehand to make sure they would be home, or even awake.” Lance and Shiro were staring each other down. Lance’s eyes were narrowed as he bit his bottom lip in concentration trying to read Shiro’s blank face. After a few silent seconds a toothy grin appeared on Shiro’s face and Lance couldn’t help but give one back.

“Okay, okay. You caught me.” Shiro raised his arms in defeat as he chuckled. “I may be here on business, but I was thinking afterwards we could go grab something to eat?”

“Well I guess I could move things around in my schedule to fit you in,” Lance said jokingly. Lance felt a tug at his arm and he looked down to see a confused Nadia looking up at him.

“But tío, you don’t do anything on Saturdays other than watch TV and throw Goldfish into our mouth.” Nadia’s brows furrowed together in confusion. Lance’s face was red, he opened his mouth to defend himself only to have Sylvio run into the room.

“Yeah, and sometimes you teach us k-pop dances!” Lance could hear the rest of his family laughing from the living room, obviously eavesdropping on the two. Lance scowled as Sylvio and Nadia quickly ran back to the living room giggling. Lance turned back to Shiro whose face radiated amusement.

“So uh, let’s pretend that never happened, so what did you want to talk to me about?”

“The Garrison’s summer camp is planning on having a week dedicated to the paladins of Voltron, old and new. Ideally every week day would focus on a lion and then Saturday would focus on Voltron as a whole. There are still a few things to work out, but I was wondering if you wanted to be a part of that. So far we have Pidge and myself. We have reached out to Keith and Hunk. If they are unable to make it they did agree to scheduled video calls. So essentially, all we need is you. What do you think?”

Lance was immediately thrown back into the past. He didn’t know what to think, he told himself he would put all of that behind him. Lance and the rest of the paladins had gone to some sort of group therapy. The group had always moved on from an event and immediately onto the next one. They had to, they didn’t have time to debrief and face what had actually happened; they needed to save the universe. A lot happened during the group therapy sessions. Once everyone started doing their own thing they were recommended to keep up with the sessions on an individual basis. Did Lance do it? No. The group therapy allowed him to pocket all of those experiences into the back corner of his mind, he didn’t want to talk about them.

Being invited to talk about the paladins and Voltron would open that tiny pocket and Lance didn’t know what would happen. Lance really didn’t want to find out, but he would possibly be reunited with his friends without fighting off a panic attack. Lance had fought so hard to be his usual carefree self when they celebrated Allura not too long ago. It worked, but once everyone parted ways Lance was a sobbing mess. It took him about a month to recover, a month full of sleeping pills that he had begun to abuse. His twin sister Rachel had found them one day and confronted him about it. It had not gone well, Lance had lashed out. He didn’t physically hurt Rachel, but he had come close. Lance had changed after that, and Rachel had always been there for him whenever things got really bad. Rachel had also agreed not to tell anyone else, Lance didn’t need the rest of his family worrying. 

Now Lance had the possibility of seeing his friends again. He was sure talking about Voltron for an entire week was not going to let him leave unscathed, but it seemed the pros outweighed the cons. Lance was terrified of having to recover again after opening up, but with Rachel and the fact that he would have his friends by his side, it might not be as bad as last time. 

Lance realized he hadn’t said anything in a while and looked up to see Shiro staring out the window at the farm. Lance smiled to himself, Shiro had given Lance time to himself to think about his offer. Lance tapped on the table lightly to bring Shiro’s attention back to him.

“I’m in.” A grin stretched across Shiro’s face at those two words. He hopped off the stool and hugged Lance tightly and quickly pulled away.

“That’s excellent news! Want to go talk about the details over-” Shiro glanced at his watch, quickly turning back to Lance “-brunch?” The other quickly nodded. The two men made their way out of the house, not before Lance kissed him mom on the forehead and gave Nadia and Sylvio well deserved noogies for embarrassing him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! So a quick note. I did some research on Lance's family and everything tells me that his sister Rachel is older, but I am slightly tweaking that. They're twins, but Rachel came first so she boasts that she's older than Lance.
> 
> Also, updates probably won't be every two days (I just have a lot of time on my hand currently). At worst they will be once a week, if more than a week apart I will give a small notice.
> 
> I'm also working on learning about skins but I'm kind of lazy so it may take a while. It's not a big part and won't change the story if they're not there. I do like the idea of skins so I can bold things, especially if I include more text messages or italicize character soliloquies.
> 
> Also, I kind of wrote a thing about my thoughts of season 8, I may post it, not sure.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Surprise!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance struggles with being back at the Garrison. While he thinks he's there to talk about being a former paladin of Voltron, other plans are soon to surface.
> 
> (Warning: talk of abusing pills)

Lance was surprised to find that he was in a good mood when he arrived at the Garrison. He thought that he would hate leaving his farm behind, leaving his comfort zone. Seeing the Garrison was like taking a breath of fresh air, it was much needed. Lance smiled to himself as he made is way to the Greeting Center. The front of the building was made entirely of glass with bland letters spelling ‘Greeting Center’ above the doors. 

When Lance entered he could hear his footsteps echo through the large room. To his left and right sat tables, chairs, and plants. In the middle of the room sat a counter in the shape of an oval with a few secretaries scattered about typing on their computers. The rest of the walls contained various hallways with names above them indicating where they led to. Lance made his way up to the first secretary he saw. Setting his bag down he flashed his signature grin when the secretary looked up.

“Hello Lance! It’s nice to see you, I have everything ready for you in a minute!” The secretary smiled at Lance before getting up and making their way to a set of drawers. Lance was surprised that they knew him, but of course Lance had spent over a year on a farm where he barely had human interaction outside of his family. Lance had forgotten he was the former red paladin of Voltron, but it was all coming back to him now. He didn’t know how to respond so he just waited until the secretary gave him a small folder containing his room key and a small packet containing information on the additions made to the Garrison. Lance thanked the secretary and made his way towards the archway marked ‘Housing’.

Lance wasn’t sure what to call where he was staying. Was it a dorm? A hotel room? An apartment? He wasn’t sure. There were at least three different buildings for people to stay in. Lance knew one was where the cadets would stay, he assumed another one was for visitors like himself, but he couldn’t figure out the last one. He wasn’t too concerned about it, he would leave that for later if he remembered. Lance’s room led into a small living room containing a couch, coffee table, and a TV. There was an open kitchen to the right with a small dining room table. There was a hallway that Lance assumed led to the bedroom and a bathroom.

Once Lance had settled in he looked around at the small apartment (that’s what he decided to call it) and grimaced, he didn’t like being cooped up. He had gotten so used to living on a farm with fresh air and neighbors that were miles away. While being here was a nice change, he wasn’t used to the cluster of buildings and florescent lights. Immediately Just like the florescent lights drained Lance of his color, they also seemed to be draining him of his good mood. Lance decided that roaming around would help settle his nerves, if anything he might find something to distract him from the thoughts that were pounding at the walls in the back of his mind. 

Lance couldn’t deny that being here was bringing back some memories that he didn’t want to think about right now. He didn’t want to think about the night that he dragged Hunk to the roof to figure out what Pidge was doing. He didn’t want to think about finding the blue lion. He didn’t want to think about all of the near death experiences his team- no his friends- had trying to save the universe. The universe balanced in the hands of four teenagers, one young adult, and two Alteans who had been asleep for 10,000 years. The amount of living beings that had entrusted their lives to Voltron was incomprehensible. Not to mention all of the other alternate realities that didn’t know that this reality had saved them. It was impossible to fathom and Lance hated it.

He wanted something tangible, but everything was pushed onto him and his friends that he didn’t have time to process anything. He just went with it and it wasn’t until everything ended that Lance was dumbfounded at everything that had happened. Lance was still having trouble processing everything and being back at the Garrison didn’t help with that at all. It took him back to the very beginning, it was making him relive everything that had happened. 

Lance had learned that he was in denial shortly after Rachel confronted him about the sleeping pills. He spilled his heart out to her and she helped him realize that, but she couldn’t help him with it. Lance had his walls built too high and Rachel was unable to get him to bring them down so he stayed in constant denial. It was only when the thoughts in the back of his mind started to break through that he was forced to acknowledge what he had been denying. Lance had always been able to push those thoughts away, but he wasn’t sure if he would be able to that here. 

Lance shouldn’t have come here, all this was going to do was open some doors that Lance did not want to open. He didn’t want to deal with anything, he wanted to be on his farm and pretend to be blissfully ignorant of everything that had happened to him. He made a mistake and he didn’t know how to get out of it. Maybe he could force himself to throw up? No, that wouldn’t be an excuse to leave. Maybe he could Rachel to call and come up with some excuse for him to come home. Maybe he could pretend to hit his head on something and fake amnesia. Maybe he could plot his own kidnapping. Lance stopped walking.

(inner dialogue that's supposed to be italicized but I have been lazy)  
What are you doing Lance? Stop trying to leave, nothing will work. Eventually you will have to face everything you’ve hidden away. Those walls you built will only hold for so long, they’ll eventually crumble and being here is just advancing the inevitable at an alarming speed.

Lance had been so lost in his mind he had no idea where he was going. He looked around and realized he had made his way onto the roof, the very roof that started his journey as a paladin of Voltron. Lance figured that this was the doing of his subconscious. He looked around and saw that no one else was on the roof, not that there was supposed to be people on the roof. Lance sighed and sat down, staring at the expanse of bland rocks, picking mindlessly at his shoes. What was Lance going to do with himself? He had only been here for what? An hour? And yet he was already feeling himself unravel. Lance needed something to help him forget about everything, he couldn’t handle the thoughts and emotions that were beginning to slip through the cracks. 

Lance thought back to the sleeping pills he used. He was sure the infirmary here had something like that, maybe even something better. Lance squeezed his eyes shut, what was he thinking? He had promised Rachel he wouldn’t do something like this again. But Rachel wasn’t here, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her right? She may be his twin but as long as he stopped taking them by the time he got back home Rachel wouldn’t be able to tell that anything happened. 

“I’m sorry Rachel, but I can’t handle this. I don’t know why I thought I could. Please forgive me.” Lance stood up, clenched his fists, and quickly made his way back inside and to his room. If Lance wanted to get away with this he needed time to think of a plan. That would distract him tonight, and in the morning he would get his pills. The rest of the night Lance was listening to music while figuring out how he would pull off this little stunt.

————————————————————————————————————

Lance woke up in a panic trying to figure out where he was. He wasn’t in his room, his walls weren’t a neutral beige color and his comforter was not white. Lance jumped up and opened the curtains, squinting at the sun. Once his eyes adjusted he recognized the buildings and the scenery, he was at the Garrison. Everything came back to Lance, Shiro invited him to talk about being a paladin of Voltron. Lance had arrived yesterday. Lance needed pills to distract him from his thoughts. Remembering his plan Lance quickly got ready, well as quickly as he could muster. He took a shower and went through his morning routine which consisted face masks and moisturizing, alongside brushing and flossing his teeth and slapping on a facade.

It took a while for Lance to figure out where he was going, since a lot had been added since he had been gone. Lance learned quickly and soon found himself in the wing that contained the infirmary. As he was walking about a hand landed on his shoulder causing him to jump. He quickly turned to see Shiro who had a smile on his face. 

“Give me a warning next time,” Lance sighed attempting to calm his heartbeat as thoughts ran through his mind. Why was Shiro here? Did he know what he was about to do? Lance was brought back by Shiro chuckling.

“Sorry Lance, didn’t mean to scare you. I was hoping to find you though. I was just about to head to your room when I saw you wandering the halls. There’s a small meeting that’s being held about the workshop. Don’t worry about eating, lunch is being provided there. Follow me.” Shiro patted Lance’s shoulder and began walking down the hall. Lance took a quick look in the opposite direction and sighed. He quickly caught up with Shiro, he would just have to do this after the meeting. 

Lance and Shiro walked in silence, but it wasn’t awkward. Lance had never really felt awkward around Shiro, Shiro had always been the dad of the group. He had this calm aura about him that Lance couldn’t describe. It was as if Shiro was conjuring images in Lance’s mind of peace and serenity. These images were places from Lance’s childhood, each image had its own story that made Lance feel safe and warm. Lance was more than happy to walk in silence and bask in the images, and he was Shiro didn’t mind the quiet either.

“Here we are!” Shiro exclaimed excitedly, causing Lance to arch an eyebrow. Since when has anyone in the entire universe been excited about meetings? Shiro quickly opened the door and pushed Lance inside. If he hadn’t been trying to figure out why Shiro seemed excited he would have immediately noticed the room was pitch black when Shiro opened the door. Lance only noticed when he was consumed in it. He was about to turn around and ask Shiro what was going on when the lights turned on.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANCE!” Lance could only stand there in shock while his mouth was agape. There were so many people wearing ridiculous party hats with grins to match. There were balloons and streamers everywhere. Lance looked around and recognized a lot of the people that he had met on his journey as a paladin. What really surprised him was that his family was there as well. And standing right next to them was Coran, Hunk, Pidge, and Kieth. Shiro had slipped next to Keith, donning his own party hat. Lance didn’t know what to say, so he said the first thing that popped up.

“It’s my birthday?” And with that the room laughed and the party began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, sorry the ending of this chapter kind of sucked. I couldn't think of a good way to end this chapter. I honestly struggled writing this because I experienced writers block so I just read a whole lot of fanfics.
> 
> I am honestly surprised at where this is going. I only have the backbones of the chapters written, I know where it is heading but I do not know the details between until I write them. If you spot any discrepancies please tell me and I can try and fix them!
> 
> Also I've started writing a college AU using first person, which I have not really done before so if I post it it may suck and I apologize. Also thinking of writing short stories about other characters in this story meeting, interacting and such. Some of the stories would intertwine with the plot of this story, some of the stories will be how some of the characters started dating. Would that be interesting to read?


	4. Let the Birthday Party Commence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small snippet of Lance's surprise party.  
> (sorry these summaries stink)

After the initial shock that it was in fact Lance’s birthday passed a huge grin spread across his face, all of his previous thoughts forgotten. All he could focus on was all of the people that were here to celebrate his birthday. Everything was overwhelming, the bass driven music, the smells of sweets, the buzz of people. Lance didn’t know where to look or what to do or what to think. All he knew was that he was truly happy. Sure he has been happy before, plenty of times. His family made him happy and he appreciated them greatly. Unfortunately, there was only so much his family could do. His family loved him unconditionally, and he was aware that that wasn’t the case for some. What Lance lacked was unconditional love from his friends, and that’s what he got right now.

Lance knew that his friends loved him, but it was one of those contradictory cases where he couldn’t bring himself to believe it. He wanted so badly to believe it, but his lack of self confidence, his self hatred, his belief that he can’t do anything right, said otherwise. A small part of him did believe that his friends loved him, and Lance would cling onto that part for dear life. And right now? At this exact moment in time? It just grew in size, it was now bigger than the part of him that didn’t believe his friends loved him. It may have been because Lance was already emotionally vulnerable that allowed for this dramatic change of thought. It may only be temporary. Lance pushed that thought away because right now he was high on the immense amount emotions he was feeling right now.

Lance saw a group of people approach him in his peripheral and turned to see it to be none other than Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, Keith, and Coran. When Lance made eye contact with Pidge, they broke into a sprint and leapt at Lance, throwing their arms around his neck, hooking their legs around his waist. Lance stumbled backwards but caught Pidge nonetheless, laughing all the while.

“Happy Birthday Lance!” Pidge exclaimed, tightening their grip on the taller man. 

“I won’t live to see another birthday if you tighten your grip anymore Pidge!” Pidge released Lance and landed gracefully on the ground. They grinned up at him and quickly backed away before Hunk enveloped him in a huge bear hug, picking him up and swinging him around before placing him on the ground and letting go.

“Lance! Happy Birthday man!”

“Thanks Hunk.” Lance’s grin somehow managed to grow larger. Shiro took his turn and brought Lance into a soft yet comforting hug. The kind of hug that tells you every comforting thing you need in a simple gesture. Shiro pulled away and gave Lance’s shoulder a squeeze.

“Happy Birthday, sharpshooter.” Lance chuckled and thanked Shiro. Coran approached Lance with a proud look on his face. He looked him up and down then spread his arms and gave Lance a hug before pulling away, still holding onto Lance’s shoulders.

“I’m so proud of you, my boy. You’ve come so far, today is all about you.” Coran gave him another hug as Lance thanked him before he joined the rest of the group, leaving Keith. Keith approached Lance, stopping a few feet away, his hip jutting to the side and his arms crossed. He looked up at Lance, a small glint in his eye that Lance was unable to read. Lance wasn’t one to back out of a challenge so he crossed his arms and looked down at Keith with narrowed eyes and a small pout on his face. Lance had no idea what was happening but if he had to stand here all day in the same position he would. Within a few seconds, that felt like minutes to Lance, a smirk appeared on Keith’s face changing his whole demeanor. What was once a tense body radiating mystery turned into a relaxed one radiating warmth.

He approached Lance and laced his arms around his torso, his chin comfortably resting on Lance’s shoulder. Lance was taken aback, he realized he had never received a genuine hug from Keith, he was unsure of where to place his arms. After a few seconds Lance felt Keith tense up and he began to pull away, presumably from the fact that Lance’s arms were still hanging in the air not hugging back. Lance didn’t want the hug to end, it was his first real hug from Keith and he was going to treasure it. He quickly enveloped Keith in his arms and pulled him back in, burying his face in his shoulder. Keith immediately relaxed and tightened his grip on Lance.

Lance had been hugged by many people, and each one he cherished. He would commit to memory how the hug made him feel. Pidge’s made him feel like he was the reason Pidge smiled, that he made them happy with just his presence. Hunk’s made him feel like he was one of the most important people in Hunk’s life. Shiro’s made him feel like everything was going to be alright, that no matter what Shiro would always have his back. Coran’s felt like the hugs any parent would give their child when they were proud. It was a hug that said ‘I’m so proud of you’ while also saying ‘Keep on being you’. As Lance hugged Keith he tried to figure out how it made him feel. 

It was a mixture of things that Lance couldn’t quite put his finger on. All he could tell was that it felt right. He loved hugging people and seeing how he fit into their hugs. He always felt comfortable, morphing to fit into each hug. This hug however, Lance didn’t need to do anything. The hug was just Lance and Keith, he didn’t need to morph to fit this hug and neither did Keith. Lance felt calm, like he was finally at peace with everything he had faced. Keith’s hug gave him hope that he could move on, and he had no idea why.

Sure, Keith was one of his best friends. Keith would send him pictures of Cosmo every week and Lance would send pictures of Kaltenecker. They would always banter back and forth in the group chats, it was a good friendship that Lance was glad to have. They had went from hating each other to best friends that still had a rivalry. Maybe it was just getting hugs from the whole group and they were all finally catching up to him. Yeah, that’s it. That explained the tightness in his chest, the warmth on his face, and the thudding of his heartbeat. He was just emotional because of what his friends did for him. 

Eventually the hug came to an end and Lance found that he didn’t want it to. Keith stepped back and smiled up at Lance, a small blush on his cheeks. Keith wished him a happy birthday and Lance thanked him. He was about to ask how they managed to plan this surprise party when Lance suddenly disappeared from sight. One minute Lance was looking at Shiro and in a second his vision became a blur and he hit the ground hard. Luckily, the person who tackled him cradled his head in their arm. Nonetheless, Lance groaned. Eyes closed, brows furrowed, and a small frown decorated his face. Lance hoped no one got that on camera.

Unfortunately for Lance, Pidge had noticed someone with an evil smirk looking at Lance before the broke into a sprint. Pidge took this opportunity to record this event with their glasses, already planning on making a video with it. The culprit let go of Lance and sprung to their feet as a maniacal laugh escaped their lips. Lance knew that laugh, he had heard it many times throughout his life. He flopped onto his back, letting his arms and legs flail dramatically to the side as he let his head roll to the side to look up at none other than Rachel.

Her hair that was once in a nice half-do, was now distraught. She had strands of hair dangling in front of her face, her bangs sticking everywhere from the impact with Lance. Rachel glanced down at Lance with a content smirk on her face. Lance looked up at her with a pout. His bottom lip jutted out, his eyebrows scrunched together, his eyes as big as saucers as he stared at Rachel.

“Oh no you don’t Lance. That was your birthday tackle, you get one every year so don’t start!” Rachel declared, pointing he finger at Lance accusingly. That only got Lance to wiggle his nose and make his eyes tear up.

“Nope” Rachel popped the ‘p’. “Not gonna work.” She crossed her arms and looked way, her chin held high.

“What did I ever do to you?” To the untrained ear Lance’s voice sounded hurt and betrayed. They couldn’t hear the threat in his voice, a threat for complete and utter revenge. They couldn’t hear the gears turning in his mind as he planned his revenge. Rachel could hear it all, and in response she turned her head towards him, pulled the skin below her left eye down with her middle finger and stuck her tongue out before walking away without a care in the world. Lance sat up, rolling his head before it snapped at his groups of friends, who sat idly by may Lance add.

“Thanks for the help,” Lance mumbled as he made sure to meet everyone’s stare with a glare. Hunk stepped forward and held out his hand to Lance. Lance took it and was pulled to his feet, but before he could move Hunk placed his arm under Lance’s knees while his other moved to the small of his back. Before Lance knew it he was being cradled by Hunk.

“Does little Lance need a nappy?” Hunk cooed. While Lance’s friends laughed, the tan boy crossed his arms while his face flushed. He released a puff of breath, making sure his friends knew he was irritated before looking away while Hunk cooed sweet nothings. Lance tried to keep his face scrunched up in anger but once Hunk started bouncing him back and forth he cracked. A ripple of laughter erupted from Lance as he harmlessly swatted at Hunk’s arm telling him to put him down.

Hunk obliged, joining Lance in his laughter. The rest of the paladins and Coran were chuckling during the entire thing. Pidge pushed their glasses up the bridge of their nose and walked towards Lance, slapping a hand on their shoulder.

“Thanks for that great footage Lance. Let’s go get some food, hm?” They smirked up at him as they grabbed his arm and headed to the tables set up with various subs and bowls of finger snacks. Lance nodded while following Pidge. Lance was only half listening, there were too many distractions around him and he was oblivious to the fact that Pidge had filmed the entire thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I had so much planned for this chapter but it was going to be so long and I had already planned on splitting it up into two chapters but I decided to cut some stuff out. I kind of wanted to include some more stuff about the surprise party but decided that I needed to end this chapter. It's not the best chapter but I finally brought in the paladins and Coran so I'm glad. 
> 
> If I do start small one shot stories that are based on this one I will most definitely include the other part of Lance's birthday party that I wanted to include here (hint: it includes dancing).
> 
> Also, this chapter was pretty light and fun, but the next chapter not so much. I want to warn you now and I will warn you in the beginning of the chapter that there will be a small snippet of sexual assault. It's not detailed but it will be in there, just wanted to put that out there.
> 
> Thank you!


	5. Galaxies Collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group goes to a club called 'Galaxies Collide' to finish up Lance's birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a very long chapter and I apologize, but I hope you do enjoy it. I've been reading a lot of fanfics lately and have been finding myself comparing mine to theirs and it has not been a good thing. I keep on telling myself to just keep on writing and you'll get better, so hopefully that will happen!
> 
> Once again, this chapter does contain a small scene regarding sexual assault. You should be able to tell when it's about to happen (just in case it involves bathrooms). Also, it's not extremely descriptive and doesn't go into too much detail.
> 
> Once again, I hope you all enjoy!

Lance had a wonderful time at his surprise party. He danced with his family and friends, ate a lot of cake, and forgot about his pain. As the party began to settle down the cadets, staff, and faculty that attended went back to work or class. Those over the age of 18 were invited to a club later that night to continue the celebration. Lance was particularly excited, but why wouldn’t he be? He was in a fantastic mood. The surprise party had been amazing and he was going to have dinner with is family before heading to the club.

Lance had spent the rest of the day choosing what he was going to where to dinner and to the club. He had just finished taking a shower, a towel was wrapped around his waist catching the occasional drop of water. Lance’s face was covered in a gray face mask as he carefully shuffled through his luggage. He found a nice pair of slacks and a button down shirt that he would wear for dinner. The tan boy however, could not find any clothing worthy of clubbing. The only thing he found that could work were a pair of dark jeans that clung to him in all of the right places. He paced the room as he thought of who he could go to that would have a shirt that could go with his jeans.

As much as Lance would love to steal one of Hunk’s shirts, he was sure they would not appreciate him cutting it up. Lance had always been a fan of taking scissors to baggy shirts, and he knew from experience that Hunk was not. Pidge wouldn’t have anything that would suit him, though their clothes would fit rather tightly on him which Lance wasn’t opposed to. Shiro was buff, and his shirts would not look good on Lance at all. That left Keith, who was a ball of angst in Lance’s eyes. Though he could never pull off Keith’s style he had to admire it, not everyone could pull off fingerless gloves.

Lance folded his jeans he was going to wear later that night and made his way over to Keith’s room, luckily they were staying in the same hall a few doors down. Lance knocked on the door impatiently, tapping his slippered foot on the carpet. A few seconds later a confused Keith opened the door. Keith first saw that Lance had on one of his signature face masks. Keith was used to that, what he was not used to was Lance only wearing a towel and slippers. Keith had seen Lance in his bathing suit and his boxer briefs, but a towel? Nope. Keith’s eyes trailed down Lance’s body, taking in his broad shoulders, his collar bones, his toned arms, his subtle six pack, the chiseled lines on his upper hips that angled towards each other only to be hidden by the way towel too soon. 

Keith dug his nails into his palms, trying to calm the beating of his heart. He had always found Lance attractive even as the scrawny kid who was a cargo pilot, but now? All Keith wanted to do was drag Lance into the room and show him just what his body did to him. Speaking of bodies, Keith was glad that Lance decided to wave his hand in front of his face to pull his attention to his face. If Keith stared at Lance’s v-line any longer his body was going to start reacting in a way he wasn’t prepared to explain. He looked up to meet Lance’s narrowed eyes. The taller boy had apparently been talking to Keith, whoops.

“-you even listening to me? I need you to have a shirt that I can use tonight! I don’t have anything other than these pair of jeans that would look good. So can you help me out?” Lance was waving the said pair of jeans in the air while gesturing to his bare chest. Keith took a deep breath and put on his regular uncaring facade. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway a smirk spreading across his face.

“You want to borrow one of my shirts? You have always criticized my fashion and now you want to wear it?” Lance nodded his dramatically and leaned towards Keith. It took all of his willpower to keep his eyes on Lance’s.

“So you’re saying I have good taste?” Lance’s eyes widened and he took a step back and crossed his arms. Keith did not miss the way his arms and chest flexed at the movement.

“Absolutely not!” Keith chuckled and pushed himself off the wall and took one step into his room.

“Guess you’ll have to find someone else, wouldn’t want someone to see you in one of my shirts.” He went to close the door but before could even move Lance had quickly jumped in the room grabbing Keith’s shoulders.

“Keith! Good ol’ buddy ol’ pal! You know I’m just joking! You have some taste in fashion, and I need some of that tonight! So will you please help me?” Lance put on his signature puppy dog eyes. Keith’s lips were pursed and his face was as red as a tomato. Lance cocked his head to the side in confusion.

“Keith?” Lance asked taking a step closer, his face now slightly concerned. Keith instantly tensed, causing Lance to begin to panic. “Keith are you alright?!”

Keith swallowed and closed his eyes. “Your towel, Lance.” He squeaked. Lance slowly lowered his eyes and noticed that his towel was indeed not draped on his hips. He also noticed that him and Keith were exceptionally close and that the door was still open. Lance yelped and let go of Keith, turning on his heels to grab his towel while simultaneously shutting the door.

Once Lance had his towel tightly secured to his hip and Keith had taken a small trip to the bathroom to calm himself down he began to help Lance find a shirt to wear to the club tonight. Keith knew he liked Lance as more than a friend, he had accepted that during the six months they were on Earth before they made their way back into space. Keith had also accepted that Lance may never like him back, he always contributed it to the fact that he was a lone wolf. A small part of him knew it was because he would do anything to make Lance happy, even if it meant just being his friend. Keith had showcased the few shirts he brought, including the one he brought to wear to the club (since his knew about the plan beforehand). Of course, Lance chose that one. Keith wasn’t going to stop him after seeing the smile that lit up his face. Keith would just have to make do.

————————————————————————————————————

The group piled out of the taxi and looked up at the bright neon sign. The club was named ‘Galaxies Collide’ in reference to all of the peaceful alien traffic Earth has been receiving. The club was large, containing multiple rooms. There was of course the main floor where the DJ was set up along with a few tables and chairs against a wall and a bar on the opposite. There were five other rooms, each dedicated towards something. One was full of comfy chairs and tables with low music in the background meant for people to lounge. One was full of pool tables, darts, and an assortment of arcade games. One was an actual restaurant showcasing food from all around the universe. One was a top notch bar with every alcohol imaginable. The last one was filled with momentums and pictures of the adventures of Voltron. They were all peaceful and showed many different alien species interacting.

Looking closely each room had a specific color scheme dedicated to the five paladins. The main room was an explosion of all five colors. Even though Voltron was no longer needed in this universe its legacy will live on. Upon entering the group was bombarded with people and aliens alike along with the pounding of a bass and the smell of fried food and alcohol. The group found their way to the room with the bar. The bartender recognized them and served them a drinks that reflected not only the color of their lions but also their personality. Hunk was served a vibrant yellow drink in a tall glass with a chunk of pineapple wedged on the rim of the glass. It was super sweet but also had a hint of spice. Pidge was served a deep green drink in wine glass. It was simple, a small hint of apple, and went down smooth. Shiro was served a clear bubbly drink in a whiskey glass. It stung but warmed his very inside. Coran was served the infamous nunville. Lance was served an electric blue slushy with a little umbrella sticking out. It tasted like fruit punch, emphasis on the punch. Keith was served a red drink in a tall shot glass. It had hints of cinnamon in it and burned on the way down. Keith was sure it would burn on the way up too.

After the group felt like they were just the right amount of tipsy they split up. Most headed towards the dance floor. Hunk went to go meet up with Shay and Pidge went to go find Matt. As they approached the main room the thumping of the bass got stronger and the crowd got thicker. Luckily, they were able to stay as a group as they weaved their way through the crowd and found a small free space for them. Coran and Lance went at it, their bodies moving to the beat without a care in the world. Shiro and Keith both had their arms crossed and hips jutted out as they watched in amusement. Coran and Lance were now currently dancing around each other in some sort of dance off. 

Keith couldn’t take his eyes off the way Lance moved his hips, they swayed with the beat and carried his body with him. They were hypnotizing, and definitely not because Lance was wearing one of Keith’s shirts that was just a tad too short exposing tan skin. Lance’s jeans fit him perfectly, accentuating his muscular thighs and bringing attention to his ass. The shirt that Lance borrowed from Keith was a black t-shirt hoodie with red specks scattered all about. It had originally been a regular hoodie but Keith had cut off the sleeves and the bottom hem. On Keith it was slightly loose but still showed the shape of his torso and hips. It didn’t show any skin on Keith unless he lifted his arms in the air, but that was an entirely different story for Lance. 

On Lance it was tight, showcasing his broad shoulders. The hoodie stuck to Lance until close to his bottom ribs where it loosened up. The part of his torso that wasn’t covered by the hoodie began to slim down only to slightly flare out around his hips. The hoodie ended right above his belly button allowing his Apollo’s belt to be seen by anyone. Keith knew he was staring and he was a little too tipsy to care. He watched as Lance raised his arms above his head, hitching the hoodie ever higher and began to circle his hips letting himself spin in a circle.

“Why don’t you go dance with him?” Keith felt a nudge at his side and was immediately pulled out his trance as he looked into Shiro’s eyes. They glistened with a hint of mischief and amusement. Keith looked away knowing that if he wasn’t blushing before, he was now.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He mumbled.

“Okay, then I guess you won’t mind if I do this.” Keith whipped his head to look at Shiro with wide eyes as he called Lance over. The tan boy made his way over, his body already beginning to glisten with sweat. All Keith could do was stare as a drop ran down Lance’s neck and disappeared into his hoodie.

“Hey Lance, I’m about to go get some more to drink and didn’t want to leave Keith here all by him lonesome.” Keith wanted to respond but all he could do was stumble as Shiro pushed him towards Lance. Lance caught him by his arms though the damage was done and their chests were already touching. Keith could feel the heat radiating off of Lance, he could smell the saltiness of the sweat and how it mixed pleasantly with the sweet smell of Lance’s deodorant. Keith looked up to see the Lance was staring at him with a small lopsided smile.

“Care to dance mullet?” Lance let his arms trail down Keith’s arms to rest lightly on his hips. Keith looked anywhere but at the boy in front of him, screaming at himself to get a grip.

“I don’t know how to dance,” Keith stuttered. Lance learned forward, his breath tickling his ear causing the shorter boy to shiver as Lance hummed in his ear.

“Good thing I’m a great teacher,” Lance chuckled as he pulled away. He was already moving his hips to the beat. He moved his arms up Keith’s sides and up his arms as he draped them over his shoulder. Once in place he moved his hand back down to Keith’s hips and began to move them back and forth causing the shorter boys hips to move.

“Just loosen up,” Keith hadn’t realized that Lance had bent down and whispered in his ear, nor had he realized how tense he was. He let the shiver that Lance’s voice caused run down his body while also relaxing as it did so. Keith took a deep breath and looked up at Lance as he began to move his hips with him. A smile spread across the taller boy’s face and Keith had decided that he had died and gone to heaven. Lance’s face was glistening, his eyes slightly hooded, and a small lopsided grin was planted on his face as he looked at Keith.

Just like all good things come to an end, so did this moment. Keith was just beginning to get into it. He had tightened his grip around Lance’s neck as he simultaneously pulled himself closer. Lance had moved his thumb under Keith’s shirt and was running his thumb across Keith’s hip bone, which caused him to gasp. Lance chuckled and pulled Keith’s towards him so their hips were touching. Keith bit his lip to stop a groan that wanted to escape. The warmth between them was overwhelming but Keith wouldn’t have it any other way. The way they were swaying was doing something to Keith. His chest was tight and he knew that his pants would soon become too tight for comfort, but he didn’t want to stop it. He wanted to grind his hips against Lance and make him react the same way. He wanted Lance to dig his fingers into his hips and whisper nothings in his ear just so he could feel his hot breath against his neck. He wanted to run his hands under Lance’s shirt and feel his muscles move as he rolled his hips.

Just as Keith was about to let his imagination attempt to become reality Lance was suddenly not in his arms, causing goosebumps to spread across his exposed flesh. He quickly blinked to clear his head and noticed a girl pulled Lance away from him. Keith scowled and took a step forward only for the girl to step in-between him and Lance. She leaned forward with a sickly sweet smile on her face as she looked Keith in the eye.

“I hope you don’t mind if I borrow him, hm?” Without waiting for an answer she hurriedly dragged Lance away. Keith was too stunned to chase after them until it was too late, they were no where in sight. Keith glanced over his shoulder to see Hunk, Shay, and Romelle dancing with Coran, blissfully unaware of Keith. He made his way out of the large room and towards the lounge. He saw Shiro and Curtis sitting at a high table and he went to join them.

“Hey, where’s Lance?” Shiro sounded confused, a small frown planted on his face as Keith sat down with a huge sigh.

“I don’t know, everything was fine and then some girl stole him away and I didn’t know what to do and now I can’t find him,” Keith exclaimed throwing his hands in the air. He slumped in his chair and crossed his arms.

“Does someone have a crush?” Keith managed to slump even further in his chair at Curtis’s question. Shiro chuckled as he placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze.

“I haven’t seen Lance at all but why don’t you go find Pidge and ask them? They might know. Do you know where they are, hon?” Shiro turned towards his husband with a small smile.

“I think I heard Pidge and Matt arguing about getting the highest score on the arcade games. That would be my first bet on where they are.” Curtis smiled softly at Keith. Keith nodded and thanked the both of them before making his way towards the game room. After shuffling through the crowd he entered the room where Pidge and Matt would most likely be. The room was filled with the sounds of billiard balls bouncing off each other, the 8-bit music of arcade games, and laughter. Keith scanned the crowd for a familiar face.

He spotted Pidge standing at an arcade game, a small crowd surrounding them. Keith made his way over and stood to Pidge’s left, watching them play some fighter game.

“Hey Keith what’s up?” Pidge hadn’t even looked over to know that Keith was there, which didn’t surprise the pale boy in the slightest.

“Have you seen Lance?” 

“I haven’t moved from here in a while so the answers no.” Keith’s shoulders slumped. “However, Matt went to go get some snacks so he might have seen him. Why don’t you hang out here with me and tell me why you want to find him, hm?” Pidge quirked their eyebrows as a smirk appeared on their face. Keith groaned and ran his hand down his face.

“I’m sure you know why Pidge,” he grumbled in response.

“Not really,” they shrugged, their eyes glued to the screen. “I know you have feelings for Lance but I haven’t really seen you guys at all tonight. Care to explain?”

“You’re gonna make me tell you aren’t you?” Keith grumbled as he began to blush as Pidge only nodded in response.

“Ugh, fine. We were… dancing, well Lance started to get me to dance. It was nice and when I was finally getting into it this girl just took him away. He looked kind of confused and lost but I was shocked when it all happened so I didn’t notice where she took him.” Kieth sighed in defeat while Pidge frowned

“That sucks, hopefully Matt returns soon and can tell you where he is.” As if summoned Matt approached the group while balancing two plates of nachos.

“Hey Pidge I got us some loaded alien nachos! Oh, hey Kieth! What’s up?” Matt smiled at him as he placed one plate on top of the arcade machine and began to dig into his own plate.

“Ah, nothing much.” Keith answered as he scratched the back of his. “Have you… did you happen to see Lance on your way back?”

“Lance?” Matt asked, swallowing his food as Keith nodded. “Yeah I did!” Keith’s body perked up as he focused his entire attention on Matt.

“Where?”

“I didn’t see him until he stopped in front of my to say hi. I noticed he was being pulled along by some random girl. He looked really out of it, I asked him if he was okay and all he did was giggle at me and squeeze my cheek. The girl said that he was fine, just had a little too much to drink and that she was taking him to the bathroom.” Matt frowned at Keith, his fists were clenched and face was contorted in anger. Without saying anything he stormed off with Matt calling after him.

When Lance was dancing with Keith he had definitely been tipsy, but he had not seemed out of it. Sure he was very handsy with Keith, but he wasn’t a giggling mess. That girl must have done something to him and Keith was furious. He needed to find Lance and quick. He pushed threw the crowd and began to look in the bathrooms. There were a few spread across the club and Keith had no luck looking in the men’s. He was about to go ask Pidge, Romelle, or Shay to look in the women’s. Even though Pidge was non-binary they always went into the women’s bathroom since they were cleaner. Though they would occasionally go into the men’s if the line was too long and Keith couldn’t argue with that. As he was about to go back to the dane floor and look for Shay he noticed a bathroom hidden in the corner by the staff only door.

Keith approached it and noticed it was an individual bathroom. He was about to turn the handle when he heard muffled voices coming from the door. He froze and tried to listen to what they were saying.

“Just shut up and let me take your clothes off. I don’t want to hear about Keith I-“ Keith barged through the door to see Lance pressed against the wall. His jeans were gathered around his ankles, Keith’s hoodie pushed up above his chest. What was really concerning was the woman on her knees pulling down Lance’s boxer briefs. Keith could see Lance’s pubic hair, but he could also see that he was hopelessly pushing at her hand. Lance’s eyebrows were furrowed, his nose scrunched up, he was biting his bottom lip trying to stop the tears that were building in his eyes.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Keith roared, stomping in the bathroom and pushing the woman away from Lance.

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m trying to get laid by a paladin,” She said, her voice tinged with irritation. Keith pulled Lance’s boxer briefs up and bent down and began to pull up his jeans. Lance was unable to to anything but stare at Keith with tears running down his face, worrying the smaller boy. Something was wrong with Lance, he definitely wasn’t drunk. As Keith struggled with pulling up Lance’s jeans his anger kept on seeping out of him.

“What the fuck did you give him?” He growled as he finally got Lance’s jeans up. He began buttoning them up, shooting the girl a glare.

“I just bought him another drink, not my fault he’s a lightweight.” She shrugged nonchalantly and met Keith’s gaze. After a few seconds she began to squirm under it. She puffed out her cheeks in frustration and looked away. “Okay so there may also be something else in there. I needed him to relax, all he was doing was complaining about finding you! Do you know how much of a turn off that is?! I’m trying to fuck him not listen a shitty sob story.” 

Keith’s vision went red. He turned his body towards her and took a step forward. His fists were clenched and his body was shaking with rage. The woman’s face went white, her eyes widened and her mouth was gaping. Keith took another step forward, he bared his teeth, a low growl escaping his throat.

“Keith.” In an instant Keith’s anger vanished, replaced by concern. Lance’s voice sounded so fragile and lost it broke Keith’s heart. He immediately turned towards the boy and saw that his face was pale, sweat dripping down it. Keith’s hoodie seemed to be soaked from how much Lance was sweating. Keith turned back towards Lance and placed one hand on his shoulder and the back of his other hand on his forehead. He was burning up and his breathing was becoming shallow. 

“I suggest you leave now before I do something I’ll regret.” Keith barked, turning to glare at the woman. She quickly nodded, sprinting towards the door, opening it, and sprinting out. Keith quickly turned his attention back to Lance, whose eyes were beginning to droop.

“Hey Lance, stay with me buddy,” Keith’s voice was quiet and calm. He adjusted the hoodie Lance was wearing and quickly pulled out his phone as he draped one of Lance’s arms over his shoulder. They exited the bathroom and Keith led them towards the exit. He called Shiro, quickly explaining what happened and that he was going to take Lance back to the Garrison. After he convinced Shiro to stay and enjoy the rest of the night Keith called a taxi.

That night was filled with Keith taking care of Lance. He rubbed Lance’s back as he threw up too many times in the toilet to the point that he was just dry heaving. He eventually got Lance to drink water and was able to help him shower. He helped the tan boy into bed and when he was about to leave Lance begged him to stay, and that is how Keith woke up with Lance’s arms wrapped around his waist and his head nestled on his chest. Keith sighed, wishing that he could wake up like this everyday.


	6. Keith's Sexuality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith thinks back to how and when he discovered his sexuality, and his attraction towards Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this is really late, I didn't exactly know how to write this chapter but I really wanted to talk about Keith's sexuality. I hope you enjoy this chapter! There will be a chapter about Lance's, I'm just not sure when! Since I finished this chapter there should be another update within a week, I'm gonna try and upload it sooner since it's been forever since I updated.
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for bearing with me!

Keith stared at the boy who was calmly sleeping. Keith felt Lance’s breath tickle his chest and his fingers occasionally twitch at his side. He looked around to see what time it was, the alarm on the nightstand told him it was 5am. He groaned and let himself sink into the pillow. He had barely gotten four hours of sleep and he knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. Keith closed his eyes and thought about the boy that was softly snoring on his chest. How had he come to develop feelings for Lance?

It all started on the night that Keith rescued Shiro. Keith had always been a loner, he vaguely knew of the other students in his class, but he didn’t try to associate with them. Why should he? He wasn’t kind, he wasn’t friendly, he wasn’t accepted. Keith had wondered for the longest time why Shiro kept him around, it would keep him awake for hours. He heard what everyone said about him, and he pretended not to notice or not to care. If that didn’t work, well, Keith wasn’t new to fights. 

At night Keith would replay all the bad parts that had happened that day. Eventually he started believing them, and because of that he began to think Shiro was taking pity on him. Shiro had to have felt all of those things as well, right? Keith still loved Shiro, he had saved him. Shiro had never treated him poorly, never talked down to him. Keith was battling internally with himself, what was the truth? Was he really just an orphaned loser? Someone who fucks everything up? Someone that nobody wants around? Or is he someone that brings a smile to Shiro’s face? Someone who is reliable? Someone who is talented?

Keith didn’t know the answer, and when Shiro was proclaimed dead he couldn’t fight off the negative thoughts. That is how Keith became the ball of angst that he was when he became a paladin of Voltron. Keith learned how to be a team player, he learned what it was like to be able to rely on others, he learned what is was like to never be alone. Keith had his bad days, but so did everyone else. The one person who could always aggravate Keith was Lance. It might have been because Lance had claimed they were rivals so they would always find themselves in ridiculous contests. It might because of his obnoxious flirting with anything with legs. It might be because he’s loud but outgoing. It might be because he’s such a likable and carefree person when he wasn’t being an asshole.

All Keith knew was that Lance was always on his mind. In the beginning Lance would piss him off to no ends, but Keith couldn’t deny they made a good team. They worked well together, so why weren’t they friends? Keith would contemplate that a few times a week, especially after they argued. Eventually, Keith mellowed out around the team, which meant his fights with Lance were less and less. Did they still fight? Oh yeah, but they were tamed compared to the beginning. Both of them had matured and began to respect each other.

Keith had learned about his feelings for Lance when he was traveling through the Quantum Abyss with his mom. They spent two years together, of course they got to know each other. It was Krolia that had pointed out Keith’s crush, and at the time he didn’t know how to handle it. It’s not that Keith was homophobic, it’s just that he never thought about things like that. He never had time for romantic feelings, which is probably why he became frustrated with Lance. He didn’t know if it was because he was hopeless in that department or the fact that Lance never seemed to flirt with him.

It took Keith a while to figure out who he was, it wasn’t until Voltron saved the universe that he was able to. Talking with his mom helped him a lot, but it took a while to get used to everything. The journey for Keith to figure out his sexuality was kind of like a trial and error situation.With how oblivious he was to his feelings and attractions Keith and Krolia thought that maybe he was asexual. Keith wasn’t uneducated on the LGBT+ community, he knew his terminology, he just never thought about if it applied to him or not. 

So Keith had accepted that he was asexual. Whenever he thought about Lance he would get a fuzzy feeling in his gut and his heartbeat would quicken. He wanted to hold Lance’s hand and cuddle with him, but when he thought about anything beyond kissing he felt uncomfortable. He didn’t really want to talk about that kind of stuff with his mom, but Galra customs were different than human customs. The Galra are rather open about discussing sexualities and sexual desires. In fact, most alien species are. They are aware that sexual acts are a natural part of life, but they also acknowledge that there can be a lack of it as well. Very few alien species are conservative about the topic of sex, and humans are included. Keith had gotten quite used to it throughout the two years with his mom. 

It wasn’t until Keith finally returned to Voltron that he discovered he wasn’t asexual. Upon hearing Lance’s voice when he got back Keith felt like his body heating up, his gut folding in on itself. When he saw Lance in person he didn’t realize how much he had missed him. His body hadn’t changed as much as Keith’s, but his muscles were more defined and his hair was a little longer, giving him a rugged bed head look. In an instant thoughts had filled Keith’s mind, thoughts that made him realize he was not asexual.

He wanted to rip Lance’s clothes off so he could feel his soft skin and his toned muscles. He wanted to see and hear how Lance would react to their warm bodies molding to each other. He wanted to kiss every inch of Lance’s skin and hear him moan his name. He wanted to leave bite marks all over Lance’s neck and down his body to his hips. He wanted to show Lance just how much he missed him.

In an instant Keith became confused and frustrated, which caused him to lash out at Lance. He didn’t want to think about him so he needed to talk about what he and his mom had discovered about Lotor. Did Keith tell his mom about that? No, Keith wasn’t big on sharing that kind of personal information no matter how open and understanding his mom would be. He knew that he needed to figure out what he was, but that would have be put on the back burner.

When Keith finally found time for himself to relax after saving Earth he had come to realize something important. He had put his life on the back burner. When his father died he had become rebellious and reckless. He didn’t have time to figure out the changes that were happening to his body and mind. When Shiro took him under his wing he shoved his problems away. When Shiro disappeared Keith was obsessed with trying to figure out what happened to him. When Keith became a paladin of Voltron he had put everyone and everything ahead of himself. He barely gave himself a second thought, he was just a rebellious and angsty dropout trying to save the world. He never really had time to figure himself out, until now.

He had discovered a lot of things with his mom, and now he was going to figure out his sexuality by himself. Keith couldn’t stop thinking about Lance, couldn’t stop the thoughts that popped up in his mind, couldn’t stop the tent in his pants. Keith was finally able to figure himself out, and all it gave him was a raging boner and inappropriate thoughts about Lance. Keith eventually gave in and began to masturbate to Lance whenever those thoughts made their way into his head. That had caused him to pleasure himself in many places in the Garrison and on the Atlas. He masturbated in the bathrooms, in the showers, in random supply closets, in the training rooms late at night, and in the kitchens just to name a few. 

There was one moment that Keith wasn’t too proud of, but it was one of the best orgasms he had experienced. It just so happened that the group ended up falling asleep in Lance’s room after hanging out one night. Keith had 'fallen asleep' on the foot of Lance’s bed, while Lance was curled up on the other end. Keith couldn’t ignore the fact that he was on Lance’s bed, with the taller man being only a couple feet away. He also couldn’t ignore the fact that everything smelled of Lance. That night Keith had stolen Lance’s jacket and made his way to the closest bathroom where his imagination went wild as he stroked himself while burying his face in Lance’s jacket.

That was also the moment that Keith had realized he was gay. In all of his masturbation journeys he had tried to jack off to the thought of women, but with no luck. Within a minute they turned into men, most of the time Lance. Other times it was a few men from the Garrison that he had seen in passing. This was in the beginning of course, eventually they always turned into Lance and eventually he stopped trying to think of women and other men.

Keith eventually tamed his masturbation habits as he came to terms with his sexuality. This was all relatively new to him and it hit him like a truck. Keith hadn’t realized how stressed he was until Voltron saved Earth. Not only did his sexual urges come into play but also his emotions, and he wasn’t the only one. All of the paladins were finally processing what they had gone through. It was tough, but luckily they had each other.

And now Keith found himself awake while Lance slept peacefully. Keith had no idea what to do, no idea if Lance even liked him. He was conflicted, at first he had hated Lance. Lance was rude and immature and always treated Keith poorly. Keith wasn’t sure why, but luckily Lance had matured, and he was glad. He didn’t know what he would have done or how team Voltron would have been if Lance hadn’t matured. Keith wasn’t sure what would have happened if he continued to be a lone wolf. Either way, Keith was glad that him and Lance were getting along. Maybe one day something would happen, Keith could only hope. For now, all he could do was wait while mindlessly running his fingers through Lance’s hair.


	7. Bonding Moment Pt. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance wakes up and pieces together what happened the night before and Keith comforts him.
> 
> Basically, Lance and Keith have another bonding moment, this one Lance won't forget or deny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I said I would upload this within a week but that didn't happen. Luckily I'm just a couple days late. This definitely would have been uploaded sooner but I was sick last week so I just laid in bed and watched Netflix and slept a lot. 
> 
> Anyway, things should start picking up starting in chapter 7! There's gonna be a plot! Woooo! If you're still here, thanks for staying with me!

Lance was gently awoken to the feeling of someone playing with his hair. Lance nuzzled his head into Keith’s chest, causing Keith’s hand to stop. The taller man groaned at the lost of contact as he opened his eyes and looked up at Keith with a pout.

“Why’d you stop?” Lance noticed a small blush appear on Keith’s face as he quickly looked away. Was Keith embarrassed that he got caught? Lance pulled Keith closer to himself, not noticing that Keith froze and was holding his breath.

“Keeith!” Lance shook the shorter man. “Why’d you stop?” Keith glanced down at Lance before relaxing his body and letting out a sigh.

“I wasn’t realizing I was doing it.” Keith whispered as he began to untangle himself from Lance, earning another groan.

“Keith, come back! I’m cold!” Lance stretched his arms out trying to grab Keith who was just out of reach.

“Lance, I think it’s time we get up. You’re probably hungry, and definitely need some water.” Keith stood up and opened the curtain slightly to let some light in. Lance groaned as he sat up, rubbing at his eyes.

“What happened last night?” Keith snapped his attention towards Lance, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“You… don’t remember?” He slowly approached Lance and sat on the edge of the bed, examining his face. Lance rubbed the back of his head as a blush spread across his cheeks.

“Did I do something embarrassing? How much did I drink?” Lance chuckled, hoping he had just done something stupid. That didn’t explain the look of concern on Keith’s face though, maybe Lance had almost injured himself? Maybe he drank too much and got alcohol poisoning? If that was the case he should be in a hospital with the look on Keith’s face. All of this happened within a few seconds as Keith was attempting to figure out how to tell Lance.

After a few more speculations, everything clicked with Lance. Flashes of the events from last night ran through Lance’s head. The group arriving at the club. Everyone drinking to get a little buzzed before going off. Him and Keith dancing only to be interrupted by someone pulling him away. He was a little too buzzed from the alcohol and dancing with Keith to realize what was happening. The girl had handed him a glass of water and he absentmindedly chugged it. He was looking for Keith, but soon his mind became foggy and his body felt like lead.

Next thing he knew he was in a single bathroom and this girl was trying to undress him. Lance had tried to push her off but that was nearly impossible since he could barely move. His could barely comprehend what was happening, all he knew was that he wanted it to stop. He wanted to go back to dancing with Keith. As soon as she was about to undress Lance’s lower half the door was flung open. The last thing Lance saw was Keith. These memories were fuzzy for Lance, but he was able to quickly piece together what would have happened if Keith hadn’t come along.

Lance’s eyes began to water, but he didn’t stop them when they ran down his cheeks. Keith had found him and saved him. He looked up at Keith and tried to say thank you, but when he opened his mouth a small sob escaped instead. He quickly covered his mouth as his body began shaking. He tried to stop the sobs that were raking his body but that only made it worse. He felt the bed move and felt Keith’s arms around him, pulling him into his chest.

Lance quickly wrapped his arms around Keith while he buried his head in his chest, letting his sobs escape. The shorter man rubbed his back while whispering calming phrases. Lance’s sobs eventually turned to sniffling and the occasional hiccup. Lance slowly pulled away from Keith while still holding onto him. He looked at Keith, a small blush spreading across his face.

Him and Keith had become good friends over the past few years, but Lance would have never guessed he would be sobbing in his friends arms. Lance wasn’t one to shy away from his emotions, but this was a sensitive topic. Lance knew this was something that he shouldn’t be ashamed of, but he couldn’t help it. If he had fought to stay with Keith, if he hadn’t chugged that drink, if he hadn’t come here. Lance opened his mouth to apologize, but before a word could escape Keith cut him off.

“If you’re about to apologize for something you had no control over I will duct tape your mouth.” Lance felt immensely better. The crying definitely helped but hearing that Keith didn’t blame him at all was what really helped. It would definitely take him a while to process everything that happened, but Lance didn’t want to unpack that right now. 

“I didn’t know you were into that kind of stuff but I am totally open to trying if you are,” Lance managed a small smile as he wiggled his eyebrows at Keith. Keith chuckled and gave Lance a small smile.

“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.” Keith’s face became somber as he looked away. “But uh, if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here for ya bud.” Lance smiled kindly at Keith and cupped his cheek in his hand, turning his head so he faced Lance. This instantly caused the smaller man’s face to turn red.

“Thanks Keith, I can always count on you,” Lance said softly. Keith reached up and gently pulled Lance’s hands away. Lance’s eyebrows knitted in confusion.

“How about we get some food? You must be hungry.” Keith smiled. Lance’s eyes widened in excitement at the thought of food. He quickly untangled himself from Keith while frantically looking for clothes. Keith let out a quick sigh as the blush drained from his face. 

“Where are my clothes?” 

“Your jeans and my shirt are at the cleaners. You may have thrown up all over yourself.” Keith chuckled. Lance groaned as he dragged his hands across his face.

“Why am I so embarrassing?” Keith got up and went to his drawer, pulling out a navy blue shirt and grey sweatpants. He tossed them at Lance.

“Here, change into these. There should be an extra toothbrush in the bathroom if you want to brush your teeth.”

“Thank you Keith,” Lance said. He quickly walked into the bathroom and began getting ready. Keith began to change into a similar outfit that he gave Lance when he heard the bathroom door slam open.

“Who brushes their teeth with cinnamon toothpaste?!” Lance was waving the toothbrush in the air while his hand was on his hip. Keith could only laugh at Lance’s expression as he begrudgingly went back to brushing his teeth as he went back to the bathroom.


	8. [Insert Cool Chapter Name Here]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance roams the halls of the Atlas as he thinks back to the moments that brought him there. A series of events unfolds and Lance finds himself in an unfortunate situation.
> 
> I cannot think of a chapter name for this soooooo

It had been a week since the events at the club and Lance was back at the farm. At least, that’s what Lance wanted to think. The farm was comfortable, the farm was familiar, the farm was safe. Lance instead was on the Atlas traveling across the universe in an effort to help planets in their strive for peace. A few days after the incident Shiro had approached Lance and offered him an opportunity to help make the universe a better place.

————————————————

“Hey Lance, can I talk to you?” Lance glanced up to see Shiro walking towards him with a tray of food. Lance nodded, since he couldn’t exactly speak with a mouthful of oatmeal. Well he could, but he didn’t want to make a mess. Shiro sat down with his tray and began to eat his breakfast.

“So you’re an oatmeal guy too?” Shiro chuckled. Lance shrugged while swallowing.

“There’s so many things you can do with oatmeal, I like that it’s so versatile.” Lance took a drink from his cup. “So what did you want to talk about?”

“Straight to the point, huh? Well allow me to do the same, but let me back track first. Shortly after you all left, the Garrison formed connections with the Galactic Coalition and the Blade of Marmora to help with relief efforts across the galaxy. Everything has been going well, except the occasional hiccup along the way that’s to be expected. Recently the Blade of Marmora picked up some unusual activity happening across the universe. We’re not sure what is even happening, which is why we’re approaching the situation carefully. By partnering up with the Galactic Coalition, the Blade of Marmora, and the paladins of Voltron we can travel to different sectors on the Atlas and not only investigate the unusual activity but also help the planets in need. Pidge, Keith, and Hunk are on board and all we need is you. I know this seems sudden but please think about it.”

Lance was twirling his spoon through his oatmeal, he wasn’t sure what to think. On one hand it would be exciting to travel with his friends again. On the other hand that was a big change, and Lance was not used to change. That was evident when he tried to find the medic bay and steal some pills when he first arrived at the Garrison. Lance wasn’t sure how he would react to being back in space, he wasn’t sure what would happen and that terrified him. Only Rachel knew how bad Lance was, at least that’s what he thought. While Lance had been putting on a good front, he would always slip up and his family would get a glimpse of what he was going through his head. It pained them, but they knew it would only be worse if they tried to step in and help. They decided to support Lance as much as possible, be there for him whenever he needed them to be.

If Lance was in space he wouldn’t have the support system he was used to, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with it. Which is why it was three in the morning and he was wondering the halls because he couldn’t sleep thinking about what happened after the conversation with Shiro. The lights in the hall were dim and there were few crew members about. Whenever he passed someone he would give a curt nod and a small smile, Lance had learned how to hide his emotions quick. Those who didn’t know him wouldn’t even be able to tell that he wasn’t okay. Lance wasn’t entirely sure where he was going, mainly due to him being lost in thought. He let his feet carry him to wherever they wanted him to go.

Currently Lance was asking himself why he accepted to go back into space. Oh right, because of his family. After Shiro had told him of the plan he had gone straight to Rachel and told her about everything.

“-and so Shiro wants me to go on this magical trip to help planets in need, crazy right?” Lance exclaimed. He threw his hands up in the air and let them drop dramatically on his lap as he looked at his sister.

“I think it would be crazy for you not to go.” Rachel nonchalantly shrugged. Lance’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. Did he hear his sister correctly? She wanted him to go on this trip? To leave the safety of the farm? His support system? Sure, he had his friends, but he barely sees them. They don’t know what’s going on with Lance, and if they do they don’t know how bad it actually is.

“Did I hear you correctly? You want me to go into space? The same space where I almost died countless times? The same space where I saw so many people die? The same space where I couldn’t save the one person who deserved to live?” Tears were flowing freely down Lance’s face. He was sure he was being dramatic, but he needed Rachel to know what he would be dealing with if he went back into space.

Rachel looked empathetically at Lance, while fighting back the tears in her own eyes. She hated seeing Lance like this. She just wanted Lance to be happy again, and to do that he needed to accept Allura’s death. That doesn’t mean he has to forget her or get rid of his feelings for her, but he needs to acknowledge that this isn’t what Allura would have wanted. She would have wanted Lance to live his life, and not hide behind a mask every time he came out his room. What Lance needed was to get away from Earth. He needed his friends now, his family tried everything they could. It definitely helped Lance, but now they needed to step back.

“Lance…” Rachel sighed. She quickly enveloped Lance in a hug, resting her chin on his shoulder. “I know this is tough, and I know you don’t want to go, but everyone thinks you should. When your surprise party was being planned it was the same time Shiro was putting everything together to go into space. He pulled mom and dad aside and talked to them about this. Lance, they know you’re still suffering. They hate seeing you like this. They want you to go, you need your friends now. We will always be one video call away, no matter what time it is here.” At this point Lance had pulled away to stare at his sister in shock. His parents knew about this? Everyone but him knew about this?

“Was this whole surprise party just a ruse to get me to the Garrison and send me away?! I know I’m not perfect. I know I’m messed up and hard to handle. I know I’m a burden on everyone but did you really have to go through all of this just to send me away? If you didn’t want me here anymore why didn’t you just tell me instead of creating this elaborate plan!” Lance was fuming. He couldn’t believe his family! He couldn’t believe they would go to this length just to get him out of their hair!

“Lance, you know that’s not true,” Rachel said softly. She placed her hand on his shoulder. “Please calm down, no one is trying to get rid of you. This always happens when your anxiety is skyrocketing. Let’s take a small walk and breathe, okay?” Lance shrugged her hand off his shoulder and stood up.

“Just… leave me alone.” Lance turned away from Rachel and ran off. He heard her yell his name but he could barely think. His heart was beating in his head, his vision was blurry from his tears, and he knew he was wrong. Lance knew that wasn’t true, but when his anxiety got like this it was nearly impossible to think clearly. Right now, Lance’s anxiety was convincing him that everyone hated him; and he believed it. How else would this trip and his surprise birthday party fall so close together? It definitely didn’t seem like a coincidence, and Lance couldn’t convince himself otherwise. He needed to get away from everyone, he didn’t want to yell at anyone, say the wrong things. He wouldn’t have meant what he said but the damage would have already been done. So that’s what Lance was doing, he was running to who knows where. He would only stop when he felt certain he was alone.

After a few hours Lance was able to calm himself down and sort out his thoughts. He found Rachel and apologized, and with her help gathered their family so he could talk to them. Lance had a long discussion about traveling on the Atlas. He discussed his insecurities about it. His family comforted him and supported him in whatever decision he made. They made sure that Lance knew he was loved and that they would always be there for him. The support Lance’s family gave him helped him make his decision.  
Lance wasn’t sure how he would survive without his family’s support. Sure they were one video call away, but it was the contact and seeing them in person that helped Lance. It was the hugs and the smiles, the laughs, and play fighting. Sure Lance would see their smiles and hear their laughs, but it wouldn’t be the same. Lance stopped walking, not sure why until he looked up. He landed right in front of the medic bay. Behind those doors were countless pills that Lance could take to make him forget his pain.

Lance quickly shoved his hands in his pocket and turned away, walking as fast as he could. His whole body was shaking and he felt himself break out in a sweat. Oh how easy it would be to just go in there and grab what he wanted, to take the easy way out. Lance wasn’t sure where this newfound willpower came from, but he was going to hold onto it for dear life. He let his willpower lead him to Keith’s door. He raised his hand to knock on the door but stopped mere inches from it. Was this a good idea? Well, it was better than taking drugs to numb his feelings. And with a heavy sigh and a drooped head Lance rapped on the door lightly, hoping that Keith slept like a log.

A few seconds had passed and Lance was about to turn away when he felt a small breeze and the almost silent slide of the door being opened.

“Lance, what the hell are you doing up? It’s like three in the morning!” Keith clumsily complained. Lance looked up to see Keith rubbing his eyes violently. He crossed his arms and looked at Lance with an annoyed frown, as his eyes scanned over the taller man. Immediately Keith’s expression morphed into one of concern as he saw the bags under Lance’s eyes and the almost hollow look in his eyes. He quickly ushered Lance in, letting the door automatically close behind them.

Keith lead Lance to his bed and sat him down as he went to grab a bottle of water offering it to the other man. Lance took to the bottle and took a small sip as Keith sat down next to him.

“Want to talk about it?” Keith’s voice was barely above a whisper, afraid that if he spoke any louder Lance would run off. Lance simply shook his head.

“I don’t think I can talk about it right now, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to talk about it. I know I’ve been kind of clingy and out of sorts lately, and you’ve been nothing but kind to me. You don’t push me to tell you what’s wrong, and I think that’s why I’m here right now. I want to tell you, but I just can’t right now.” Lance’s hand were gripping his knees as he looked at the ground in shame. Here he was running to Keith with all of his problems, except Keith doesn’t even know what’s happening.

He felt Keith wrap his arm around his shoulder and pulled him close as he said, “Lance, you don’t need to tell me anything. I just want to make sure you’re alright, and while I think talking about it will help… I also know that pushing you to talk about it when you’re not ready can be detrimental. I will always be here for you, okay?” Lance was already feeling better, he didn’t know how Keith did it. Scratch that, Lance knew why. Lance felt safe in Keith’s arms. Keith also smelled slightly of cinnamon and autumn leaves. Those scents calmed Lance down immensely.

“Is your version of being there for me to angrily ask why I’m at your door at three in the morning?” Lance looked at Keith with a small smirk on his face. Keith could only respond by rolling his eyes and pushing Lance away, though Lance could see a smile on the other man’s face.

“Next time I’ll stop by your room at three in the morning and see how you treat me, hm? You better have a warm towelette scented with lavender or I will be quite upset.” Keith laughed as Lance punched him lightly on the shoulder.

“Okay okay, I get it.” Lance quickly looked down at his hands, fumbling with them. “Would it be alright if I slept here tonight?” 

“Yeah, absolutely,” Keith said, standing up from the bed and walking to turn the lights off. Luckily his back was facing Lance so he couldn’t see how red his face was.

————————————————

Lance shifted and reached out, only to find an empty bed. That was when Lance heard the alarms. Bolting out of bed he saw Keith trying, and failing, to put on his Blade of Marmora suit. He hopping around trying to get his leg into the skin tight cloth while a string of curses left his mouth. The taller boy quickly made his way over and helped Keith before grabbing his stuff.

“Where are you going?” Lance turned around to see Keith slipping his arms through his suit.

“Where do you think? I’m going to go get changed and help out?” What did Keith think he was going to do? Just sit and wait?

“You haven’t been in a situation like this in two years, you should sit this one out so you don’t get injured.” That was exactly what Keith thought he was going to do. While Lance wanted to argue he knew it would just be wasting their time. Before Lance would have argued with Keith all day, but Lance knew that he needed Keith to leave so he could sneak out and help. In response Lance simply sighed and let his shoulders sag as he threw himself on Keith’s bed.

“Lance.” Lance heard the door open and sat up to see Keith looking at him. “Be safe.” He couldn’t describe what he saw in Keith’s eyes, but his facial expression was caring and protective. Just as Lance was trying to read more into his expression Keith turned and jogged out of the room. The door closed, leaving Lance staring at the spot Keith was just at. After about a minute Lance jumped up and ran to his room. He quickly threw on black leggings and a black hoodie. He wasn’t sure what he was doing as he left his room, but he wasn’t going to sit and let whatever was happening, well, happen.

He began to jog down the hallways, watching as people were frantically running past him typing on their holo displays. As he jogged he listened to what the crew was saying. Something about a massive pirate attack? Who would be stupid enough to attack the Atlas? Lance quickened up his pace, heading towards the depths of the ship where Pidge and their technicians would be. Just one more turn, too bad he wasn’t able to make that turn. 

Three figures emerged from a hallway, stopping Lance in his tracks. They wore a tight fitting suit that was dark emerald with a long black stripe running up the sides of their legs and torso, converging at the nape of their neck. The stripe seemed to pulse some sort of energy. Their masks were just as simplistic as their suits. It resembled the paladins helmets in design. The helmet was dark emerald with a black stripe starting at the base of the helmet, making a beeline for the visor of the helmet where it stopped. This black stripe was pulsing as well. They had various weapons in their hands and they were all pointed at Lance.

“Uh, hey guys…gals… pals?” Lance slowly raised his hands in surrender as he began to slowly back away. “What brings you to the Atlas?” The figures took a quick look at each other before one of them reached into a pouch around their waste a small disc at Lance. Lance ducked out of the way, his eyes wide.

“I’m guessing you’re not looking for the bathroom huh?” Lance took in his surroundings. The only exit was to run back the way he came, but he had a feeling that he wouldn’t get very far by doing that. Lance also realized that this floor was eerily empty. Where was the crew? Lance took another step backwards, he had no way out of this but he wasn’t going down without trying. Lance sighed internally as he brought his left foot back, getting into a defensive stance. As he brought his left foot down he stepped on something. Quickly looking down Lance realized it was that disc that was thrown at him, it didn’t go very far did it? Lance looked at the figures, who were now sauntering towards him. One of them raised their hands towards Lance and before he could realize what was happening they made a fist. Lance immediately felt a shock run through his body. It felt like his bones were being rattled and his blood was being set on fire. Lance let out a painful scream as he fell to his knees, his arms slack by his side and his chin touching his chest. He heard footsteps approach him. With some effort he slowly raised his head to see one of the figures looking at him, their head cocked to the side. The figure brought its arm back, and Lance closed his eyes as he prepared himself to get knocked out. The last thing he heard was a painful crunch as their fist made contact with his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is longer than my other chapters. I knew that I wanted the action to start, so I made this chapter longer! Welcome to the action (I was literally about to type 'Welcome to the Black Parade')! Our boy Lance isn't going to have it easy, and neither is Keith. Enjoy the angst!  
> Also, I'm horrible at transitions so I apologize if it seems a little off when I try to switch from past to present!


	9. Lance is Definitely not Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew figures out that Lance has been kidnapped and begins preparations to find him. Meanwhile, Lance is trapped and has no idea what is going to happen to him.

“What do you mean he’s missing?” Keith growled. He was in the control center with the rest of the paladins, except for one.

“It means we can’t find him anywhere, hence, he is missing” Pidge snapped. They folded their arms and stared at Keith with an annoyed expression.

“I don’t need your sass Pidge,” Keith snarled, turning towards them. Hunk quickly stepped between both of them, placing his hand on Keith’s shoulder.

“Hey now, let’s calm down okay? There’s no use in getting angry or annoyed. If we want to find Lance we need to stay calm.” Hunk smiled at both Keith and Pidge. Keith let his body relax, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

“Hunk is right, we need to figure this out together. Pidge have you checked the cameras?” Shiro walked up to Hunk and placed his hand on the taller man’s shoulder, giving him an appreciated look.

“That’s the thing, I did! And I’m completely stumped.” They stalked over to the control panel and pulled up the security feed. The security feed showed Lance leaving Keith’s room and running to his. He soon emerged wearing black leggings and a hoodie. Pidge followed Lance’s movements as he made his way through the halls.

“It looked like Lance was heading towards me to try and figure out what was happening. And right when he was about to turn the corner he stopped and this happened!” Pidge let the footage speak for itself. The paladins watched in silence, tension growing in the air. The video went black after Lance fell to floor.

“Is there no audio?” Keith sputtered, his face was pale and his hands were trembling. Pidge sighed.

“There is,” They reluctantly played the video again with audio, closing their eyes. They listened to it already and didn’t like the end. They flinched when they heard Lance scream. A few gasps came from behind them. Pidge turned to see Shiro’s eyes wide, his fists trembling. Hunk’s eyes were watery as he clutched as his chest. Keith had one hadn’t covering his mouth, the other wrapped around his waist as tears flowed from his eyes.

“I’ve analyzed this video so many times. I’d say he was hallucinating but the end of the video said otherwise. Something was there and it took Lance. They also managed to mess with the feed. After Lance was unconscious the feed went black for ten seconds, when it came back he was gone. I tried to recover the missing video but they managed to wipe out every aspect of the video from the ship. I’m running algorithms through the entire ship hoping to find some sort of trace. I also ran different filters through the feed, hoping maybe the intruders were disguising themselves. Whatever they used my scanners couldn’t pick them up. This is technology I haven’t seen before.” 

Pidge turned towards Keith. “I’m sorry for taking my frustrations out on you Keith, I’m just frustrated that we can’t even figure out who took Lance.” Keith shook his head.

“I should be apologizing too, I let my anger get the best of me. Right now we need to stay calm and collected so we can find Lance. We can all agree that the pirate attack was a decoy right?” The group nodded.

“Was anything reported missing on the ship?” Shiro turned towards Curtis, who quickly turned around and typed furiously.

“No, everything’s accounted for,” Curtis’s voice cracked at the end.

“So this whole thing was to kidnap Lance?” Hunk ran his hands through his hair, taking everything in.

“We need to follow the pirates. Even if they don’t have Lance they know something of what happened. They’re our only lead right now.” Keith said, staring at the video loop of Lance on the screen. As much as Keith wished the pirates that attacked the ship took Lance he knew that was highly unlikely. Someone took the time and effort to set up that decoy and take Lance. They weren’t going to be with those pirates, but right now they were their best chance of finding him.

“Okay, let’s have a meeting in two hours. I need to get everything in order on the ship. You all start packing, I suspect we’re going to be leaving shortly after the meeting.” Shiro said. The group nodded and ran out of the control room.

————————————-

When Lance woke up he registered two things, he was in pain and he was angry. Lance opened his eyes, but he might as well have kept them closed. Wherever he was it was pitch black. Lance tried to sit up but his arms were restrained behind his back and his legs were shackled together. Lance’s heart began to beat quickly as he began to hyperventilate. He was trapped and he didn’t know where he was. Lance curled in on himself as he tried to calm his breathing. He closed his eyes and counted to five, held his breath for four, and exhaled for three. He repeated this process until he felt calm enough to take in his surroundings.

He turned on his back, clenching his jaw he sat up. Lance began to scoot forward. The floor was metal so he slid easily, making little noise. Lance’s feet made contact with a wall. He quickly turned around so his back was to the wall. Taking a deep breath he pushed himself up against the wall so he was standing. Just as Lance was about to shuffle forward a light came on blinding him. He turned way from the light, quickly blinking to get rid of the black spots. 

“I see our guest is awake,” A voice said, putting emphasis on the word ‘guest’ so it sounded sarcastic.

“I don’t think proper guest etiquette is to tie them up and throw them into a pitch black room,” Lance snarled as he took in his surroundings. He was in a rather small room. It was a metal box with a door to his left and a light above him.

“Mmm, maybe not. But nonetheless, you still are our guest.” The voice chuckled.

“Who the hell are you?” Lance barked.

“Sassy much? I don’t think you’re in much of a position to be demanding things… don’t you think?” The voice leaked with arrogance that had Lance’s ear tinge red with anger. Lance wanted to give a snarky response, he wanted to annoy whoever it was that was talking to him. Instead, Lance grit his teeth because he had no idea where he was, no idea if anyone knew he was missing, and no idea how to get out. 

Lance was terrified. Just a quick look at the room showed that the door didn’t have a handle on the inside. There were no windows, there was nothing Lance could do. All he could do was wait for an opportunity to arise so that he could escape. Or he just had to wait for his friends to come and save him.

They knew he was missing right? They would find him, they would rescue him, right? Lance’s mind was racing, anxiety began to creep up and block all sense of reasoning. He should have just listened to Keith. Why did he think he could do something? He tried to figure out what was going on and he got kidnapped. His friends were better off leaving him in this metal box to rot.

“Are you done spacing out now?” Lance jumped at the sudden sound. 

“Ah, there you are. Welcome back! Have a nice trip?” Lance didn’t answer.

“Playing the silent game? I can tell you’re just going to be loads of fun, and I’m not saying that in a sarcastic manner. Most of my prisoners aren’t this feisty. I can’t wait to have some fun with you Lance.” Once the voice cut off the lights went out, leaving Lance in complete darkness again. He felt beads of sweat form on his forehead as his knees began to shake. He let himself slide to the ground, he felt hopeless. What had he gotten himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I wanted to upload this sometime last week but I was rather busy and forgot to finish it, until today! The chapters might become a little shorter so I can try and upload them in a timely manner. Thanks for reading!


	10. Lance Gets a Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance gets an unexpected visit, and an unexpected reality check.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, I've had this idea in my head for a long time and I'm hoping that I portrayed it well enough for you to understand!
> 
> I also left some notes at the end of the chapter on my thoughts about a certain ship that I wanted to address.

Falling asleep was not on Lance’s to-do list after being captured. Having a dream about Allura wasn’t on that list either, but when does Lance ever get a break? When Lance opened his eyes he was still in his metal prison cell. A soft glow emitted from the single light in the room revealing that Lance wasn’t alone. The longer he looked at the figure the more he recognized their features. What really gave it away was the long curly white hair, but Lance would have recognized her anywhere. Allura was sitting in the cell with him.

“Allura? Is that you?” Lance’s voice was barely audible.

“Hello Lance.” Lance’s world stopped. He could just make out the small smile that graced Allura’s face. She was as beautiful as ever and her voice was like honey. Lance’s chest fell tight. When was the last time he heard her voice? He always loved how she said his name.

“You’re probably wondering why I’m here.” Lance nodded. “And if I’m real.” Lance stopped nodding, realizing that this most definitely wasn’t real, that he was dreaming.

“You may be dreaming Lance, but it is me.” Allura frowned as Lance shuddered as he let out a shaky breath.

“I don’t need this right now. I’ve already lost you, I don’t need my mind to convince me that I haven’t.” Allura had to strain to hear Lance.

“Lance, I may be gone from all physical realms, but my essence is still present.” Allura paused, making sure Lance was paying attention. “Quintessence, in layman terms, is life itself. We are Quintessence and Quintessence is us. When I sacrificed myself I became one with the Quintessence. I am able to see what is, what was, and what will be. Not everyone is able to do this. The paladins, Lotor, Zarkon, and Haggar can as well. Are you following me so far Lance?”

If Lance was being honest he had no idea what was going on, but he hoped the more Allura explained the more he would be able to convince himself that this is a dream. He simply nodded, pulling his knees to his chest.

“Essentially, we can watch over all realities, but that’s it. Until now. Lance. We’re connected, and I hadn’t realized how much that has effected you. You have those Altean markings because I gave you a part of me.”

“Wait, does that mean you’re with me all of the time?”

“No, it simply means I am able to connect with you like I am right now. I can communicate with you. Doing so is risky, but it’s something that needs to be done.”

“What do you mean needs to be done?”

“Lance, you’re going down a dangerous path because of me. The part of me I gave you, the part of me that loves you, I gave it to you so you could move on. It is now a part of you as it was me, and it desires for us to be together. Obviously, that cannot happen. It’s clouding your judgement, you’re blind to the love that is right in front of you.”

“What are you saying?”

“You need to move on,” Allura sighed.

“Move on? What do you think I’m trying to do? I’ve been trying to move on but all that it has done is damaged me more.”“That’s because you don’t want to move on, you want me to come back. You can’t accept that fact that I’m gone, but you need to Lance.” Lance was pacing the small room while running his hands through his hair. Allura was doing a bad job at convincing Lance that this was just a dream that his subconscious conjured up.

“How can I get over you when I’m still in love with you?!” Lance’s voice was frantic as he turned to face the girl of (and in) his dreams.

“Lance, I gave you a part of me so that you could love someone as much as you loved me. I didn’t anticipate that it would feed off your guilt, anger, and self-esteem and turn into something harmful.” Allura stood up and grabbed Lance’s shoulders. He looked at her with wide eyes, he didn’t think her touch would feel so real.

“Lance, I need you to let me go. You’re not happy and never will be unless you let me go. I love you Lance, but I let you go. I now need you to let me go. There are people here that want to see you happy. They want to make you happy but they can’t if you’re still caught up in the fantasy that I’m coming back.” Lance lowered his gaze. Allura was right, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

Lance cautiously raised his arms and gently placed them on Allura’s waist. Lance made eye contact with her, it was too dark for him to see the small blush on her cheeks. Sighing, Lance pulled Allura closer and buried his face in her hair. He felt Allura slip her arms around his neck as she rested her cheek on his shoulder.  
“Is the last time I’ll see you?” Lance felt Allura nod into his shoulder. Lance held Allura closer and took in her scent as much as possible. This dream was too real for Lance.

“Lance, I need you to move on. Your friends and family need you to move on, but the most important person that needs you to move on is you.” Allura pulled away to look at Lance. A single tear ran down his face but neither made an attempt to wipe it away.

“I love you Allura.” Lance sniffed as more tears fell.

“And I will always love you Lance, but now it’s time for you to find the person who can actually love you.” Allura cupped Lance’s cheek. “The person you deserve, the person who will make you far happier than I could ever have.”

Lance leaned into her touch, letting her words flow threw his body. Someone who he deserves. Someone who make him happier. Lance felt like he didn’t deserve anyone, and yet Allura was telling him that there was someone out there. If Lance was being honest, everything was going way too fast. He didn’t know how he would feel in the next hour. How would he take this once everything settled in? Lance had no answers for the many questions that plagued his mind.

“Is there actually someone who loves me?” Allura only smiled. Lance took that opportunity to lean in the few inches and kiss Allura. Her lips were just as soft as the last time he kissed them. Lance always thought their lips fit perfectly together. All of his anxiety and depression just slipped away when he kissed Allura. The kiss was soft, lips moving slowly as the kiss went on. Lance eventually pulled away.

Opening his eyes Lance found himself in complete darkness, and though he couldn’t see he could tell he was alone. Lance tried to move but was stopped by his restraints. Lance felt empty, he had just said goodbye to Allura. He would argue that this was the second time, but Lance didn’t want to believe that she was really gone the first time. In a way, she never was, but that didn’t mean that Lance could have her. Lance knew that he accepted that Allura was gone, but that didn’t mean he was done mourning. Lance was confident that this time around the mourning was going to be worse. He had no hope that Allura was coming back because no matter how much he tried to convince himself it was just a dream he knew it wasn’t. Allura was not coming back, she was gone and she moved on. Lance needed to move on, but first he had to figure out how to get out of here.

————————————————————-

“Lance!”

Keith woke up with a start, his damp hair clinging to his forehead. Right before he woke up he heard a familiar voice whisper “protect him”. Keith wasn’t sure what was going on but he knew that he would protect Lance with every ounce of his being.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that! 
> 
> I would like to start out by saying I do not hate Allura, I enjoyed her character even though I got pissed at her plenty of times. This is about Allurance, please don't take it as me hating on Allura, it's just the ship.
> 
> Truth be told, I am not a huge fan of Allurance. I am a pretty versatile shipper. I have my ships of course but I also enjoy other ships as well, except for Allurance. Under different circumstances maybe, but everything just seemed wrong to me. Their relationship was not healthy. It seems pretty obvious that Lance and Allura did not hang out and get to know each other a lot during their 6 months back on Earth. The way Allura treated Lance when he asked her to dinner made me think that Allura only focused on the Altean they found. I'm not saying she was wrong to do that, but it was definitely a 360 when she accepted Lance's love declaration after pushing him aside the day before. I also think that Allura's and Lotor's relationship went deeper than what the show portrayed (I don't really have too much evidence for this just a gut feeling). I feel like Lance was a rebound, whether Allura realized it or not. If Allura was given time to develop feelings for Lance and then they started dating, maybe? I am still not a big fan of the ship. With how many times she has ignored Lance's attempts at flirting I don't think she was every really attracted to him, I think she was desperate for love and convinced herself that she loved Lance.


	11. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance finally gets a good look at who the leader of the group that kidnapped him. Unfortunately, he's handsome.
> 
> Keith and the rest have to think of a plan to infiltrate the place where Lance is being held captive.

Lance squirmed in his restraints. He wasn’t sure how long he had been in this chair. He wasn’t sure how long he had been held captive. However, he did know that he was hungry but refused to eat. He also knew that his captors had been trying to get him to eat and had been refusing. Their leader, whoever he was currently had him tied up in a chair, Lance couldn’t complain though. It was comfier than the cold metal floor he had been sleeping on.

Lance was currently examining the table, he couldn’t figure out what it was made out of. He had to say it looked like a geode, it had different colored layers that eventually ended in a pool of black in the middle. At the same time it resembled a knot from a tree, it had a grainy texture to it. The thing that made it impressive to Lance is that the layers of purple, gold, and green that flowed like a stream. It was barely noticeable but Lance noticed since he had been staring at the table the entire time his captor was talking to him.

That was until he said something that had Lance not so subtly snapping his head up to look at the person who spoke.

“So, my intel tells me that your friends have discovered our base.” He nonchalantly glanced up at Lance while twirling a small orb in his hand. “Not that I’m surprised, I want them to find me, though it is earlier than expected. Nonetheless-” He sighed as he stood up -pocketed his orb- and began to make his way towards Lance, his hand trailing on the table. The table seemed to react, the flow of the colors seeming to pulse wherever he touched. “everything is already prepared. We are ready for them. I was just hoping I would have a little longer with you.”

He stopped in front of Lance, who was currently glaring at a wall. The wall didn’t do anything, but he was afraid of what he might say or try to do if he looked at his captor any longer. Unfortunately for Lance, a slender finger made its way under Lance’s chin and tenderly brought his face up.

Lance hadn’t really taken a close look at his captor, but now he had not choice. His skin was the color of periwinkle, his hair a light olive color; it was giving Lance plant vibes. His eyes were cat-like and had no iris’s or pupil’s. If Lance ever wanted to see a beautiful sunset all he had to do was look into this person’s eyes. His olive green eyelashes stood out against them. His lips were a pale purple color, his bottom lip slightly plump. He had sharp cheekbones, his nose was slightly upturned. His chin seemed to want to end in a point but immediately tapered in. 

In conclusion, this man was beautiful and Lance couldn’t take his eyes off of him, especially when he smirked. Lance was praying that he wasn’t blushing. Please, please, please don’t let him be blushing.

“You sure are cute.” And did Lance forget to mention that his voice was deep and smooth as silk? Lance felt his head turn sideways as if he was being appraised. Lance wouldn’t put it past this man. That also gave him the opportunity to look away and hopefully never look back into those sunset eyes.

The room was filled with unbearable silence; at least to Lance. His captor moved his face the other way and Lance clenched his jaw in anger. If his arms and legs weren’t tied to the chair Lance would have probably already tried to attack whoever this person was. Instead, he waited in hopes that his captor would be dumb enough to put his hand in the way of Lance’s mouth.

Unfortunately, that never happened. The mystery man eventually dropped his arm, took one last look at Lance, and walked out of the room without a word.

—————————————————————

“This is taking forever! How much longer until we get there?” An impatient Keith was pacing across the control center. The amount of tension in the room was high and the amount of angst Keith was emitting was not helping.

“Keith, this isn’t some typical ransom. These people know what they’re doing. Unfortunately, we don’t know why and that makes this ten times harder.” Pidge answered almost monotone as their fingers typed away.

“How? We just go in, kick some ass, rescue Lance, and get out,” Keith grumbled. He had finally stopped and was leaning against a bare wall with his arms crossed. If any one of his team members could describe him right now they would all say he was the epitome of angst. His black hair was a mess, he had black bags under his eyes, and Hunk would swear on his food empire that if he looked Keith dead in the eye he would turn to stone.

“Keith, they’re expecting us,” Shiro sighed.

“Okay? We’ve had that happen to us plenty of times!” Keith barked. Shiro’s body went rigid as his head snapped towards Keith, who immediately looked away with a small blush on his face.

“Look Keith, I get it. We all want to get Lance back but we can’t just charge in and expect everything to go our way. We could afford to be a little careless at times in the past because we had Voltron. We don’t have that luxury anymore.” Shiro’s voice was stern from the stress of the entire situation. Keith didn’t answer, afraid of what will come out of his mouth. He knew he was being irrational, but it was hard to be patient when nobody knew anything about who took Lance and why. Instead, he continued to stare at the ground.

“Why don’t you go and train Keith? I’ll whip up some snacks for all us.” Hunk came to the rescue. Keith silently nodded and made his way towards Hunk, who placed his hand on his shoulder and guided him out of the room.

Shiro sighed as he watched Keith leave the room. He understood how Keith felt, being apart from someone you cared deeply about. He’ll have to apologize to Keith later, he shouldn’t have take his frustrations out on him. It was clear as day to anyone that Keith had feelings for Lance, besides Lance. It’s understandable why he’s on edge. If Lance is saved… No, when Lance is saved Shiro hopes that Keith will finally confess his feelings. Only one way to find out, and that was to rescue Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I for some reason cannot write chapters that have less than 1,000 words in it.
> 
> Also, I had a small block on this story so I started another fic. It's a college AU with Lance and Keith. I don't know if I will upload it but I'm having fun writing it!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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